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Season 1 | Episode 44 - May 12, 2026

How St. Charles Turned Clinical Quality into Payer Leverage: From Seven MA Payers to One

Episode Description

Related Topics:
Finance and OperationsLeadership & GovernancePayer Strategy
Relevant Roles:
Chief Strategy Officers

Listen to the episode on a streaming platform by clicking one of the links below:

We dig into how St. Charles Health System, a four-hospital not-for-profit in Central Oregon and the sole major provider across a 32,000-square-mile service area, went from seven Medicare Advantage payers down to one and then turned a twenty-year track record of clinical quality into a negotiating tool that cut cancer treatment authorization times from weeks to a single day.

Matt Swafford, CFO, and Mark Hallett, Chief Clinical Officer, walk us through the decision to terminate contracts with six national MA payers, how they used NCCN concordance rates to negotiate instant authorization with PacificSource, and the CFO-CCO partnership model that enabled it all.

Headshot of a smiling woman with long wavy dark hair, wearing a green sweater, standing outdoors in front of a brick building.

About Our Host

Anika Rasheed

Anika is a Senior Analyst on the Strategy Catalyst team.

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